The main purpose of the knee joint is to ensure normal motor activity of the lower extremity and achieve a stable position of the trunk. In this case, this part of the body is assigned the most important role - participation in the processes of flexion and extension of the limb.
Despite the complex structure and sufficient strength of this joint, injuries, thermal influences, physical overload, various complications due to chronic infectious processes and, as a result, serious inflammatory processes with an increased likelihood of restriction of movement and accumulation of exudate can occur. To prevent such undesirable phenomena, it is recommended to immediately contact a qualified specialist to make a thorough diagnosis and draw up a competent treatment plan.
The knee is the most complex and largest joint in the human body.
The knee joint is subjected to a lot of stress every day. It is responsible for flexion and extension of the lower extremity, supports a person's weight and ensures its stable position. It is the knee that allows us to walk, jump, run, squat and turn.
The ability to perform these actions is ensured by the following components:
- tendons;
- Bone;
- Cartilage;
- Ligaments and muscles.
This explains why knee joint pain can occur in people of any age group. We can talk about effective treatment and complete recovery only after we find out the cause of the disease.
Reasons why knees hurt
So, the knee joint plays an important role in the human body: it is responsible for the motor activity of the leg, keeps the body in a stable position and supports the weight of a person. In addition, the knee has a complex structure consisting of several interconnected elements.
If a person has knee pain and is trying to find a solution to what to do, it is first necessary to find out the factors that cause the discomfort. As a rule, the causes of the disease are the same for all situations.
The risk factors are identical in almost all cases: musculofascial dysfunction. This creates significant tension, leading to compression and destruction of the cartilage. As a result, a person feels unpleasant sensations indicating damage to the knee joint and looks for a way to eliminate the pathological process.
Injury
If you don't know what to do when your knees hurt, be careful - the reasons may be hidden in a joint injury. This is the part of the body that is injured more often than others. As a result, joint dysfunction occurs, which is accompanied by pain.
Such complaints can be due to ligament damage. Representatives of professional sports are most often prone to injuries. Even people who do not follow the running technique may experience pain and problems with the ligaments. Knee damage is often caused by hitting a ball during a soccer game.
It should be noted that such injuries occur quite often. In addition, discomfort can occur not only during an exacerbation, but also after it.
A fracture can destroy several bones at once. This occurs more often than others in older patients and people prone to degenerative diseases.
In case of severe joint damage, operations, physiotherapeutic procedures and exercise therapy are carried out.
Bursitis
The main purpose of the joint capsule is to ensure easy sliding of the ligaments and to improve the function of the knee joint itself. Chronic injuries and unexpected impacts can cause damage and inflammation.
The presence of bursitis is indicated by the following signs: swelling, pain, limitation of motor activity, increased temperature in the knee joint.
If your knees hurt a lot, you should first conduct a thorough diagnosis to understand what to do and how to treat this disease. Only an individual approach to the problem allows you to draw up the correct treatment plan and select effective drugs with an anti-inflammatory effect. You should also take care of the knee joint.
In advanced forms of bursitis, they resort to more serious measures - surgical interventions and special injections are carried out.
Dislocations
It is a displacement of the kneecap from its normal position, which is also accompanied by increased pain.
In this case, only an experienced specialist, after a thorough diagnosis and examination, can answer the question of what to do if there is pain under the knee.
To detect fractures and draw up the correct treatment plan, they resort to an X-ray examination. In advanced situations, surgical intervention is performed.
Often, a dislocation of the knee joint can cause pain. This is a fairly serious injury that occurs after a strong blow.
Degenerative diseases
One of the most common pathologies associated with degenerative tissue changes is osteoarthritis. In this case, there is a reduction in the size of the cartilage, which is accompanied by impaired motor activity of the joint and pain. As a rule, such pathological processes are caused by age-related changes in the body that occur in people aged 55-65.
Despite the irreversibility of degenerative changes, there are treatments that can relieve symptoms and help improve quality of life. In advanced forms of the disease, the implant is inserted surgically.
Autoimmune diseases
We are talking about inflammatory processes that affect the joints. They are characterized by malfunctions of the immune system, as a result of which it begins to perceive its own tissue as foreign and destroy it.
This process is accompanied by the following undesirable phenomena: swelling, pain and degenerative changes in the joints, erosive lesions of bone tissue.
Taking into account the clinical picture, the specialist will tell you what exactly you need to do if your knee joints hurt. As a rule, the patient is recommended to take the following medications:
- anti-inflammatory drugs;
- steroids;
- anti-inflammatory drugs and biological agents;
- analgesics and others.
Salt deposits in joints
This is a metabolic disease that is associated with the deposition of uric acid salts in the body tissue. The main signs of gout are: severe swelling, limited physical activity and severe pain. To break down urate crystals, special medications are prescribed, as well as anti-inflammatory drugs.
Infectious processes
Even a small scratch in the knee area can contribute to the spread of the infectious process to surrounding tissues and organs, including the joint area.
In people with weakened immune systems, this poses a real danger to the body. That is, any damage to the skin can worsen the condition of such a patient.
What shouldn't you do if your knees hurt?
No matter the reason why your knees hurt, below we'll tell you what you shouldn't do to avoid the condition worsening:
- Avoid knee injuries;
- Avoid foods that contribute to weight gain (fried and fatty foods, confectionery, high-salt foods, potatoes, sweet carbonated drinks, fast food);
- Avoid excessive physical activity related to sports.
- If your knees hurt and you don't know what to do with such discomfort, as the reviews show, it is better to give up addictions (excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages and smoking tobacco).
- Avoid wearing tight shoes and high heels.
- Minimize the likelihood of stressful situations;
- Ensure healthy, restful sleep;
- Avoid remaining in one position for a long time.
In which cases is a doctor's visit necessary?
Medical intervention is not necessary if the pain in the knee area was caused by minor skin damage, a minor injury, or a deformation of the joint. In such situations, self-treatment is permitted.
In more serious cases, there is an urgent need to see a specialist. This is primarily due to the likelihood of damage to the joint capsule, which can facilitate the entry of pathogenic bacteria into the body.
If the consequences of the injury are not eliminated in a timely manner, the joint's functionality may be lost. It is necessary to consult a doctor in the following situations:
- Your knees hurt a lot and you have no information about what to do;
- The pain syndrome of increased intensity does not disappear for several days;
- There is swelling, redness and fever in the joint area;
- increase in body temperature;
- Decreased motor activity, bruising.
Experienced specialists carry out a thorough diagnosis of the condition of the knee joint, draw up a detailed treatment plan and select the most effective treatment even for the most advanced pathologies.
Treatment of knee pain
Often people don't know exactly what to do when their knee joints hurt and try to get the problem under control themselves. Unfortunately, uncontrolled use of medications and the use of special ointments can lead to the opposite result.
To quickly relieve pain, an integrated approach is required. Not only medications are used, but also physiotherapeutic procedures are carried out and special orthopedic devices are used. These include knee braces and orthoses, which help prevent the likelihood of relapses and ensure a faster recovery.
taking medication
To relieve pain, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, steroid hormones, vasodilators and chondroprotectors are prescribed. Specialists prescribe painkillers with extreme caution, as they do not allow any conclusions to be drawn about the actual condition of the knee joint. Next, we will talk in more detail about the drugs used:
- NSAIDs.Since eliminating the inflammatory process and pain is the central task for complaints in the knee area, doctors primarily recommend the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. For this purpose, they use special tablets and ointments. If the pain becomes painful, patients are given intramuscular injections. If your knees hurt slightly, any doctor will answer the question "What should I do? "" advise to use an ointment. For injuries to the knee joint, products containing glycosaminoglycans are often used. In turn, to eliminate swelling, they resort to compresses with dimethyl sulfoxide;
- Chondroprotectors.Regardless of whether your knees hurt after running or after a long walk or against the background of other pathologies, only an experienced doctor can advise exactly what to do. However, the general recommendation for all patients to relieve pain is to take medications containing chondroitin and glucosamine. Thanks to their use, it is possible to accelerate the process of cartilage tissue restoration, prevent oxidative stress and ensure the growth of healthy cartilage cells. In addition, chondroprotectors contribute to faster rehabilitation after injury, minimize the likelihood of serious consequences and cause almost no side effects. At the same time, experts recommend taking complexes with a high content of minerals and vitamins;
- Antispasmodics and vasodilators.They help to improve tissue supply, restore connective tissue and eliminate swelling. In chronic pathological processes, for example, if your knee hurts for a whole year, the discomfort recurs and you don't know what to do, you may need to take additional antibacterial therapy and immunobiological drugs.
Physiotherapeutic procedures
If you are wondering what to do if your knee hurts when walking or the discomfort is chronic, any experienced specialist will recommend physiotherapy treatment. With its help, it is possible to increase the effectiveness of the use of drugs and ensure the delivery of drugs into the deeper subcutaneous layers.
Physiotherapeutic procedures help to improve blood circulation, eliminate pain and reduce the source of inflammation, in addition, they normalize motor activity and ensure the removal of purulent exudate.
Even if your child's knees hurt and you're wondering what to do, the following physical therapy options are most effective:
- Effect of a magnetic field on the body;
- laser therapy;
- Exposure to electric current in combination with drug administration;
- UHF;
- Application of galvanic electric current;
- use of healing mud;
- Therapeutic effect of ultrasound;
- massage treatments;
- paraffin therapy;
- amplipulse therapy;
- treatment with medicinal leeches;
- Acupuncture;
- cold treatment;
- Diadynamic therapy and other similar procedures.
The duration of physiotherapy is usually 7-10 procedures. However, consultation with a specialist is a prerequisite before carrying out treatment measures.
UVT for knee pain
The UVT method is widely used in the elimination of diseases of the musculoskeletal system. It is based on a short-term exposure to low-frequency sound waves on the affected joint.
The strong analgesic effect during shock wave therapy sessions is achieved through the following processes:
- Improved blood circulation;
- development of new blood vessels;
- Improved metabolism.
It should be noted that under the influence of shock waves, a decrease in fibrotic processes in the tissues in the knee joint is observed.
The greatest effectiveness is achieved by using the UVT method to deposit calcium phosphate crystals in the tendons. The technology is characterized by increased safety and almost no side effects.
UVT specialists clearly determine the number of treatment sessions and their duration, and also give valuable recommendations for carrying out other restorative procedures.
The need for a puncture
If the swelling is severe, specialists remove purulent contents that limit the normal function and supply of the joint. To drain the exudate, a puncture with a syringe is performed under the influence of anesthetics.
If physiotherapeutic procedures and taking medications do not achieve the desired result, the doctor injects hyaluronic acid into the knee joint or performs a periarticular anesthetic block. If purulent inflammatory processes are detected, drug treatment is combined with washing the knee joint with a medicinal solution (lavage).
Surgical interventions for knee pain are performed in rare cases, most often in advanced situations.
Exercise therapy for knee pain
If you have knee pain, experts often recommend performing therapeutic exercises. By regularly performing simple exercises, the patient can quickly restore the motor activity of the joint, relieve pain and optimally load this part of the body. These positive effects are achieved by improving muscle tone. After 8-10 sessions you can achieve the desired result. It is important to exclude sudden movements during physical therapy.
The following exercises are suitable for doing at home:
- The patient takes a "lying" position and stretches his legs forward. Next, he performs alternating flexion and extension of the fingers of the lower extremities;
- In the "lying" position, you need to straighten your legs. After that, the patient turns his feet in different directions, trying to bring them closer to the floor;
- In the "lying" position and with the legs extended, the patient should try to stretch the toes towards the knee joint;
- The patient takes the "lying" position. Then he puts both hands under the knee and tries to slowly bend the limb. In this case, the knee must be gently raised towards the chest;
- In the "lying" position it is necessary to make movements with the legs similar to those when riding a bicycle.
Prevention measures
Questions like: "What to do if the nerve in your knee hurts? "" or "What measures to take if your knees hurt after a long walk? " lose their relevance if you take simple preventive measures. These include:
- Elimination of infectious processes and conditions after a knee injury should be carried out under the supervision of a professional specialist;
- It is imperative to eliminate pathological processes of a chronic or hereditary nature (gout, diabetes, tonsillitis);
- Maintain a normal weight by eliminating excessively sweet, salty and fatty foods and alcoholic beverages from the diet;
- Do moderate exercise;
- Take chondroprotectors once a year and be examined by a specialist.
- Follow the rules of healthy sleep;
- Drink around 2-3 liters of still water daily;
- Eliminate any possibility of hypothermia;
- Wear only comfortable shoes and clothing;
- Avoid remaining in one position for a long time.